Vibrator with cradle



July 11, 1950 H. s. CLARK VIBRATOR WITH CRADLE Filed April 14, 1948 INVENTOR.

'I/EUEY 5. CLARK BY Patented July 11, 1950 VIBBATOB Wm CRADLE Henry 8. Clark, Indianapolis, Ind., assignor, by

means assignments, to Cornell-Dubilier Electrio Corporation, South Plainiield, N. 1., a corpontion of Delaware Application sun 14, ms, Serial No. ram

(01. zoo-9o) SCIaims.

The present invention relates to improvements in vibrating circuit interrupters of the type wherein a vibrating reed carrying suitable contacts oscillates, or vibrates, between relatively stationarily mounted contacts disposed on opposite sides of the reed. The reed itself is preferably driven by an electromagnet.

In structures of this character the reed vibrates at an extremely rapid rate varying from 60 times per second to multiples thereof.

As a result the apparatus as a whole is ex tremely sensitive and delicate and when under certain circumstances the structure as a whole is mounted within a containing case or is subject to pressure the amplitude of the reed may be seriously affected, thereby affecting the operation of the device.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a means for so protecting the vibrator that there is no danger of the vibrator as a whole or the frame or base on which the parts are mounted being cramped in any way, or at least in such a manner to aifect the operation of the device.

For the purpose of disclosing the invention I have illustrated certain embodiments thereof in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a plan of a vibrator interrupter embodying my invention mounted within a container or casing and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the structure illustrated in Fig. l with a portion of th casing cut away.

Fig. 3 is a section taken along line 32 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the structure illustrated the vibrator comprises a frame having two side members i and 2 connected together with their top by a U-shaped connection bar 3. Assembled within this frame is a vibrating reed 4 carrying at its free end an armature 5 and supporting contact carrying arms 8 disposed on opposite sides of the reed and carrying contacts I. These contacts are adapted to engage alternately contacts I mounted on spring fingers 9, disposed on opposite sides of the reed, and these spring fingers or contact carrying arms operate between pairs of rigid members I. and ii. In its movement in one direction a contact on the reed 4 engages a stationary contact member for controlling the circuit of the driving electrom-agnet. The driving electromagnet I3 is supported from the U- shaped cross-bar 3 in a position with its pole piece H oil-set relatively to the armature l.

The reed I, the contact arms 9, and the rigid arms Ill and II are all clamped in position in a a cross-piece 2i.

stack mounted at the bottom end of the frame. This stack comprises a plurality of separating plates between which the arms I and rigid members i0 and H are clamped at their bottom end! and those of the separating member adjacent the rigid arms I0 and II are formed of insulating material to insulate the contact carrying arms or fingers I from the remaining parts. Suitable clamping bolts extend through the stack, being suitably insulated from the current carrying parts. The structure therefore, i such that the stack portion of the interrupter is a substantially rigid structure.

Heretofore in commercial practice it has been found that the cramping of the frame comprising the side members I and 2 and the top member I, especially at the non-stack end of the frame, will affect the correct operation of the interrupter.

This vibrator interrupter is generally enclosed in a suitable casing i5, preferably of sheet metal, provided with a removable cover [8, on which the contact prongs ll of the vibrator are mounted. These prongs are suitably connected with the driving magnet l3, the vibrator reed and the relatively stationary contact arms 9 by suitable electrical conductors (not shown) The casing i5 is generally provided with a sponge rubber lining l8 adapted to cushion the vibrator interrupter and at the same time dampen the noise of the reed when in operation.

It frequently occurs that when the vibrator reed is nested within the casing it may be placed in position slightly cocked or during the handling thereof the interrupter as a whole may be slightly cocked, which results in pressure being exerted on the side members I and 2 or on the end member 3. This has a tendency to affect the operation of the vibrating reed and-of the vibrator as a whole resulting in the improper operation of this structure. To prevent any such cramping of the vibrator frame I provided what may be called a stirrup member on each side of the frame. Each of these stirrup members or spacers comprises a pair of side arms l9 and 20 suitably spaced apart and connected together at their bottom ends by This cross-piece is clamped to the frame by suitable clamping screws 22 which it will be noted pass through the stack and therefore, clamp the protecting or side members with the rigid portion of the frame. The side protecting members I! and 2| diverge from the rigid piece so that they are spaced apart from the frame members I and. 2 and are of sumcient length to extend beyond the end of the vibrator interrupter frame.

The protecting members is and 20 may be of spring material so that the vibrator interrupter unit may have a certainamount of vibratory movement between the same.

By this arrangement it is to be noted that the vibrating unit is nested in the sponge rubber lining of the casing and is protected against any pressure on its sides except at the point of the stack which of c'ourse is a rigid structure.

I claim as my invention:

1. An electromagnetic vibrator interrupter comprising a frame, an electromagnetic coil mounted at one end thereof. a vibratory reed clamped at the opposite end thereof and having its free end extending toward said coil, contact carrying arms disposed on opposite sides of said vibratory reed and clamped to said frame with said reed, spacer members for said reed and contact arms comprising a stack at the lower end of said frame and resilient spacer arms secured at the stack end of said frame, projecting beyond the side edges of said frame, extending longitudinally of said frame and diverging from said frame toward their free ends.

2. An electromagnetic vibrator interrupter comprising a frame,. an electromagnetic coil mounted at one end thereof, a vibratory reed clamped at the opposite end of said frame and having its free end extending toward said coil, contact arms disposed on opposite sides of said vibratory reed and clamped at said opposite end of said frame with said reed, spacer members between said vreed and arms forming a relatively rigid stack at said opposite end of said frame, and resilient spacer arms clamped to said frame at said stack end, extending beyond the side edges of said frame, diverging longitudinally of the frame and extending beyond the electromagnetic coil end of the frame.

3. An electromagnetic interrupter comprising a frame, an electromagnetic coil mounted at one end thereof, a vibratory reed clamped at the opposite end thereof and having its free end extending toward said coil, contact arms disposed on opposite sides of said vibratory reed and clamped to said frame at said opposite end thereof, spacer members disposed between said arms, said reed and said frame, and forming a rigid stack at said opposite end of said frame and resilient spacer arms secured to the stack end of said frame extending longitudinally of said frame to a point beyond the coil end of the frame and beyond the opposite edges of said frame, said spacer members diverging from the sides of the frame toward the coil end.

4. An electromagnetic vibrator interrupter comprising a frame, an electromagnetic coil mounted at one end thereof, a vibratory reed clamped at the opposite end thereof, and having its free end extending toward said coil, contact carrying arms disposed on opposite sides of said vibratory reed and clamped to said frame with said reed, spacer members disposed between said contact arms, said reed, and said frame and forming a rigid stack at said opposite end of said frame at the stack end thereof and spacer members extending longitudinally of the frame, said spacer members each comprising a U-shaped member, the base of the U being clamped to the frame and the legs of the U being resilient and extending longitudinally of the frame to a point beyond the coil end of the frame and extending beyond the side edges of the frame, said U-shaped arms diverging from the stack end of the frame.

5. An electromagnetic vibrating interrupter, comprising a frame, an electromagnetic coil mounted at one end thereof and having its free end extending toward said coil, contact arms dis-- posed on opposite sides of said vibratory reed and clamped to said frame with said reed, spacer members disposed between said arms, reed, and frame at said opposite end of said frame and forming a rigid stack, a pair of relatively resilient spacer arms disposed on the opposite sides of said frame, clamped to said frame at the stack end thereof, diverging outwardly from said frame and extending beyond the end of said frame and an enclosing casing for said interrupter having .a resilient lining, the resiliency of said spacer arms being less than the resiliency of said lining.

HENRY S. CLARK.

REFERENCES crrnn The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 741,905 Ham Oct. 20, 1903. 1,194,281 Doane Aug. 8, 191 6.- 1,943,240 Lear et a1 Jan. 9, 1934 2,096,276 Garstang Oct. 19, 1937 

